Boots on the Ground

By Joe Glover and Gus Bedwell, Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs

‘He Told Me We Had All Changed His Life’

One of my favorite stories was from back in 2011/2012.

A veteran came to me at one of his lowest points. He was homeless, living in his car with his two dogs. His wife and two young daughters were sleeping on a couch together at her sister’s house because she couldn’t have the dogs. These were his PTSD therapy dogs, and they went everywhere with him.

To make matters worse, a vindictive ex of his told the VA that he had died, and they cut off his small disability compensation shortly after moving up to Oregon from Texas.

The very first thing we had to do was we had to raise him from the dead and get his benefits started back up. We had to write a formal letter to the VA saying that the person in front of me was indeed him, and he was indeed alive, and would indeed like to start receiving his benefits again. Then we sent a referral over to Easter Seals where they were able to get the family reunited and living under one roof together.

Once we had that resolved, we had to figure out what was going on with his claim. He had bounced around from three different regional office areas and his claim had followed him wherever he went (these were the days before paperless claims and the National Queue). We asked that the claim be brought up from Waco and began immediate expedited processing due to homelessness.

All of that was a month before Christmas. ODVA adopted the family that year and we made sure they had a good Christmas. Coordinating that was especially tough because his phone had shut off, and we weren’t really sure how to reach them. Eventually, we were able to track them down through the wife’s sister.

A month later in January, he received a backpay check for the time he was “dead”: $17,720.00. He and his wife had enough to move into a house on their own for the first time in years. The landlord wanted proof of the payment. We wrote a letter certifying that this was indeed a legitimate source of funding, and with that, they moved off public assistance and into a place of their own.

Two years later, after quite a bit of work, his 100 percent disability due to a back injury sustained in Iraq came through. The vet received another retroactive award of $41,016 and 100 percent disability. This was enough for them to buy their first house together.

On that day, he shook my hand, had tears in his eyes and told me that I’d changed his life. He then told me that he wanted to buy me a beer. I laughed, told him that I couldn’t accept something like that, but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless. (HONEST!) He then came back into the office a day or two later with the largest meat/cheese/cracker tray I’ve ever seen in my entire life. He told me he was donating that to our office because we had all changed his life.

That we did accept.

I’ll never forget those two. They’re the reason I do the job I do today.

— Joe Glover

I’ll never forget one story that began when I was working outreach at the local fair in 2008. A veteran approached our booth interested in VA home loan information. I inquired about his Vietnam hat and the fairgrounds wheelchair his daughter and granddaughter were pushing for him.

I discovered he was in Vietnam in the ’60s as an Army infantry soldier. He was very humble about his service even though he had been awarded a Combat Infantry Badge and Bronze Star. I also found out that he used a wheelchair because of a below-knee amputation due to diabetic complications from earlier that year.

While at the fair, he agreed to let me file a claim for him for conditions related to Agent Orange exposure during his time in Vietnam. Several months later, we met in my office to review the outcome. The veteran told me he was granted a disability rating of 80 percent for several conditions we’d filed that day at the fair. He was really happy because it meant that he could finally retire.

Prior to that, he had been working a modified 4/10 work schedule for about two years. This allowed him to work a couple of days, take a rest day, and then work a couple more days. His employer had agreed to this schedule after his amputation and continued it for him due to his diabetes issues.

We added individual unemployability (part of the VA’s disability compensation program, which allows the VA to pay certain veterans compensation at the 100 percent rate, even if their service-connected disabilities have not been rated at 100 percent) to his claim and helped him file for Social Security disability.

Three months later, he medically retired. Oh, and with the VA retro pay, the veteran was able to put a down payment on a small home.

Another memorable story is about a WWII veteran’s widow who came into my office a few years ago, very frustrated and seeking help. Apparently, she had gone to several other agencies, and no one would help her. Her husband had died a couple years earlier and she was seeking to get his grave marker updated with his correct rank.

According to the VA, her husband left the Army Reserves after World War II as a Corporal (E-4). However, in several pictures she had of her husband in uniform he was a Staff Sergeant (E-6). After months of combing through several documents and working with a Midwest state National Guard command, we were able to find the veteran made it to the rank of Sergeant (E-5) promotable. This information was presented to Willamette Cemetery, and they agreed to update the grave marker.

The widow came back into my office the day after Memorial Day crying and thanking me for helping her. I’ll always remember how happy she was, as she went around the office showing everyone pictures of the new marker and of her husband in uniform.

— Gus Bedwell